The Maze Runner Series
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Disturbing in many ways - Part 01
Dee
Aug 07, 2015 10:12PM
I don’t normally do reviews. In fact – this is my first official one I’m calling a review. Heck… not – maybe it’s just a rant.
I’ve just finished all three “Maze Runner” books by author James Dashner and I’m disturbed by a few things, not the least of which is how much I intensely dislike the main character/protagonist/supposed-hero of the story.
***SPOILERS AHEAD: IF YOU HAVE NOT READ ALL THREE BOOKS AND DON’T WANT TO KNOW ABOUT WHAT HAPPENS, READ NO FURTHER***
Firstly, I’ll say (not that it’ll stop the trolls…) I’m NOT FOR active human testing or torture – however I don’t see it as being an impossibility IF times get truly desperate. I’m not a Nazi.
I *can* see the government/world leaders taking the stance of sacrificing the few to save the many. Before the screaming and backlash starts… let us think in terms of this: 100 people to save over a BILLION people (with assumptions that about 5 to 6 billion people were instantly vaporized by the novel’s sun flare premise) – are you in favour of the highly possible extinction of humans (because, let’s face it… the chance of EVERY SINGLE ONE of the immune being wonderful souls who want nothing more than to procreate and repopulate humanity AND are extremely good at basic survival on little-to-no resources… is pretty slim)? I have definitely had times where I think “Humans kinda suck” – but I’m not sure that, in the face of a catastrophe on this magnitude I’d be quite so cavalier about announcing “Yes. Let the few of us survive – and screw the rest of you!” – who knows… hopefully we’ll never be in such a situation to have to make such a decision.
So… a few generalizations that irk me. Irk me GREATLY. Each will be explained (in parts 2 and 3...)
1. Why does it appear to be a trend that with most recently written “young adult” popular fiction (a la Hunger Games, Divergent, Maze Runner) that Teenagers are all portrayed as fairly narcissistic, short-sighted, self-serving, incredibly hypocritical asses?
2. The main hero is always white.
3. The rare time when someone of another ethnicity is introduced… they’re either killed or portrayed… really unattractively (not aesthetically, necessarily).
I’ve just finished all three “Maze Runner” books by author James Dashner and I’m disturbed by a few things, not the least of which is how much I intensely dislike the main character/protagonist/supposed-hero of the story.
***SPOILERS AHEAD: IF YOU HAVE NOT READ ALL THREE BOOKS AND DON’T WANT TO KNOW ABOUT WHAT HAPPENS, READ NO FURTHER***
Firstly, I’ll say (not that it’ll stop the trolls…) I’m NOT FOR active human testing or torture – however I don’t see it as being an impossibility IF times get truly desperate. I’m not a Nazi.
I *can* see the government/world leaders taking the stance of sacrificing the few to save the many. Before the screaming and backlash starts… let us think in terms of this: 100 people to save over a BILLION people (with assumptions that about 5 to 6 billion people were instantly vaporized by the novel’s sun flare premise) – are you in favour of the highly possible extinction of humans (because, let’s face it… the chance of EVERY SINGLE ONE of the immune being wonderful souls who want nothing more than to procreate and repopulate humanity AND are extremely good at basic survival on little-to-no resources… is pretty slim)? I have definitely had times where I think “Humans kinda suck” – but I’m not sure that, in the face of a catastrophe on this magnitude I’d be quite so cavalier about announcing “Yes. Let the few of us survive – and screw the rest of you!” – who knows… hopefully we’ll never be in such a situation to have to make such a decision.
So… a few generalizations that irk me. Irk me GREATLY. Each will be explained (in parts 2 and 3...)
1. Why does it appear to be a trend that with most recently written “young adult” popular fiction (a la Hunger Games, Divergent, Maze Runner) that Teenagers are all portrayed as fairly narcissistic, short-sighted, self-serving, incredibly hypocritical asses?
2. The main hero is always white.
3. The rare time when someone of another ethnicity is introduced… they’re either killed or portrayed… really unattractively (not aesthetically, necessarily).
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